Skywritings

COLLISION COURSE: THE TRUTH ABOUT AIRLINE SAFETY
BY RALPH NADER AND WESLEY J. SMITH

Depending on your politics, Ralph Nader is either: (1) the consummate advocate for the public welfare, or (2) a well-meaning, but slightly irritating, alarmist for whom the glass is always half-empty. Nader, who almost single-handedly reformed automobile safety standards (thank him for air bags, shoulder harnesses, and rollover protection), now turns his attention to aviation safety. His latest book, coauthored with Wesley J. Smith, is titled Collision Course: The Truth About Airline Safety.

Having applied his consumerist skills to a wide range of fields over the past three decades, Nader has developed an eagle eye for just about any flaw in any product or system. But as we in aviation know, you don't have to dig very deep to see what ails us. Nader and Smith dig away, and so Collision Course is a complete catalog of the aviation community's woes, with an emphasis on airline operations.

For those who don't know any better, Collision Course is enough to frighten away any would-be pilot or passenger. In one chapter after another, the reader comes to learn that, quite literally, the sky is falling. According to the book, deregulation of the airlines brought about their financial collapse, which in turn brought about shortcuts in maintenance. The airline fleet is aging, so airplanes fall apart in midair. The air traffic control system is swamped to overcapacity, and post-Patco-strike controllers can't hack it. The FAA won't act on a problem until it's killed several planeloads. The FAA's modernization program is a joke. Commuter airliners blithely fly into the ground. TCAS doesn't work as advertised. Airport security is a mess. Crash survivability is awful. Small airplanes without Mode C transponders blunder into terminal airspace — and so on.

But wait a minute. All these problems are real, if a bit overstated. The problem with C ollision Course is not so much the message, but the way it's delivered. The authors frequently try too hard to get their points across. There are scads of self-serving quotes and a liberal sprinkling of passages breathless with stilted emotion.

Even so, the book is a worthwhile, easy read. It's a good roster and summary of the safety issues facing us, together with prescriptions for dealing with them. Think of it as an awareness seminar, and try to look beyond the heavy-handed sales job. Collision Course, in hardcover and 378 pages, is available for $21.95 from Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania 17294-0850; 717/794-2191; fax 717/794-2103. — Thomas A. Horne

LET'S TAKE A WINGWALK
BY LISA PARDUE

Self-publishing is never easy, but free spirit Lisa Pardue of Lakeland, Florida, combines wit and first-class drawing talent in an excellent first effort.

Let's Take A Wingwalk, with its large type and cartoon-like illustrations, at first appears to be a children's book. Some eagle-eyed parents, however, have found the word "damn" and the term "screw-up" used in Pardue's honest observations about her life atop the wing of a 450 Stearman. Most of us could come up with language a lot rougher than that after clinging to the rigging of a Stearman during a barrel roll.

Surely an aviation poster publisher will notice the potential of her illustrations as whimsical stand-alone art, particularly one poking fun at the cramped conditions and service on some airline aircraft.

Let's Take A Wingwalk is available from Pardue directly for $10 plus shipping and handling by writing: Lisa Pardue, 740 Mississippi Avenue, Lakeland, Florida 33801. — Alton K. Marsh

THE ART OF WILLIAM S. PHILLIPS: THE GLORY OF FLIGHT
TEXT BY EDWARDS PARK

Christmas shopping just got easier. Greenwich Workshop has released a visual treat, The Art of William S. Phillips: The Glory of Flight, that is sure to be a hit with the aviator on your list.

The colorful book opens with an uninterrupted, beautifully printed series of Phillips' most popular paintings, then merges dozens of additional nostalgic and historic works with the text of aviation author Edwards Park (author of Angels Twenty and Aviation Pioneers).

The result is a treat for the eye and the mind, with an introduction by best-selling author Stephen Coonts thrown in for good measure. Coonts notes Phillips' rare gift for distilling, "...the vision of the aviation experience to the pure, raw essence."

Greenwich Workshop also produces prints of Phillips' aviation paintings sold in art galleries. Rare archival black-and-white photographs lend authenticity to many of the scenes. Greenwich Workshop, Inc., 1 Greenwich Place, Shelton, Connecticut 06484; 800/243-4246. $60 in the United States, $74 in Canada. — AKM

VIDEOTAPES

CLEARED TO LAND
WESTMORELAND PRODUCTIONS

Parents, had enough of that purple dinosaur on your television? How would you like the more soothing sounds of airplane noise? Cleared to Land, a video by Phoenix talk-radio host Preston Westmoreland, is an aviation film targeted specifically at children.

With no narration, war stories, or interviews, this film depicts aviation in its rawest form. I have seen similar videos for kids depicting construction work, fire fighting, and other heavy-hardware-related topics.

This tape extensively uses file footage from Cessna, Beech, the airlines, the military, and other entities. It is good footage but it would be nice to see something more original. At some points, footage seemed about on par or a step above amateur home video.

Besides airplanes, there are helicopters, blimps, ultralights, gliders, and even radio-controlled models for kids to drool over.

Much of the film was of airliners either taking off or landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International. Since much of the material seems crude and boring for adults, I planted my 23-month-old nephew in front of the television and fired up the tape.

He loved it! According to his parents, he stayed interested for 30 minutes by himself, which is a feat for this child. "If we had sat with him, he surely would've watched the whole thing," his father said. It will undoubtedly be a well-used video in the short amount of time that our subject has to play it.

Personally, I would've liked to have seen and heard some beefy old radial engines and Merlins to counter all the turbine activity in this film. But Westmoreland seems to know what kids like, and that's what this video is all about. To order, call 800/582-5802 or 602/488-9508 (in the Phoenix area) or send $12.95 plus $2 shipping to: Westmoreland Productions, Inc., Post Office Box 5610, Carefree, Arizona 85377. — Peter A. Bedell

TROPICAL ESCAPE
EARTHFLIGHT PRODUCTIONS

Craig Peyton has combined his music and aerial videotaping skills to produce a beautiful low-level-flight videotape of tropical islands from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands. If you can't go there, put on the tape and pretend. Earthflight Productions, Post Office Box 158, Poughquag, New York 12570, or call 800/864-3278. — AKM

SUN WEST MEDIA MARKETING GROUP

For those thinking of adding to their aviation video collection, "Dreams of Flight," by Sun West Media Marketing Group and the Smithsonian's Air & Space magazine, makes a great candidate. The three-volume series covers the history of flight from the first balloons to space-shuttle missions.

Volume one, In the Beginning, has rare footage from the early days of flight. The quality is topnotch, typical of many Smithsonian- involved videos. Unfortunately, for audio/videophiles, the audio track is not presented in surround sound or even stereo. According to Sun West, the Laserdisc version (available in November) will have a surround or stereo soundtrack.

Interviews with notables such as Patty Wagstaff, Sean D. Tucker, Scott Crossfield, Chuck Yeager, and many more aviation and space celebrities are included.

Volume two, titled The Golden Age...and Beyond, covers record breakers like Lindbergh, Earhart, and Wiley Post. Nostalgic footage from the early days of airliners glorifies air travel, however, an interview with a former stewardess who worked aboard a Ford Tri-motor tells the real story.

Volume three, Higher...Faster...Farther, is mostly devoted to the advent of jet-powered transports and the demise of the piston-powered airliners like the Lockheed Constellation and the Boeing Clippers.

Space programs such as Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and shuttle missions are briefly covered, but Sun West also offers a separate two- volume video collection titled "To the Moon and Beyond..." for $44.95, plus $6.95 for shipping.

"Dreams of Flight" videos are available in VHS cassette and on Laserdisc (price to be determined). Each tape is just under an hour and can be ordered by calling 800/466-7766. The cost for the set of three videos is $69.95, plus $7.45 shipping. Sun West Media Marketing Group, 1801 Oakland Boulevard, Suite 315-C, Walnut Creek, California 94596. — PAB